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Voter Turnout

            A very disturbing trend that has emerged recently in our political system is the steady decline in voter turnout. In a country that values democracy as deeply as the American people, it is hard to believe that we are experiencing almost a two to three percent drop in voter turnout every election. When elections such as these affect many aspects of your social political and economical situation and not simply which candidate is elected to office, one must consider what factors would cause almost half of the population in the United States to fail to vote on election day. The solution to this problem will require researching many different aspects of the voting process to get a better understanding of who fails to vote and what reasons cause them not to vote.
             After the election of 1960 a discouraging trend of low voter turnout appeared in our political system. In the presidential election of 1960 there was a 63.1% turnout of the voting age population. In the years following this election, we have seen an average decrease of (calculate exact amount) every year in voter turnout. This trend continued through our presidential election of 2000 where there was only a 51.3% turnout which actually was an increase from the 49.1% of the previous election. This trend is not only present in our presidential elections but also in many other national and statewide elections. For example, in the congressional election of 1962 there was a 47.3% turnout and then in 2000 there was only a 36.4% turnout. It seems that the United States is not alone in this trend because many other democracies across the world are also experiencing similar declines. Unfortunately, the United States is second to last in voter turnout among democratic nations. The only country with a lower turnout is Switzerland with a 34.9% voter turnout rate. It is not likely that a generic solution will be found that can be used across the world but looking at other countries may help to understand why we are experiencing this steady decline.


Essays Related to Voter Turnout

1. The Texas Voter Turnout

Why is voter turnout low in Texas? ... The low civic participation and voters turnout in Texas can be explained with the following factors. ... Unlike in swing states, where the turnout of voters is higher, in Taxes the complete control is gained by the Republicans, Democrats also controlling it for a century a decade ago("The two-party system," 2013).What is more, citizens are prone not to vote when there is an obvious domination of one of the candidates.Thus, in Texas even when there was an attempt from the third parties to transform the political landscape that could hardly change the voti...

  • Word Count: 458
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

2. Presidential Elections and Voter Turnout

For the 2014 midterm election it was 36.4 percent2; voter turnout was the lowest it's been in any election cycle since World War II.... Government, is low voter turnout. ... However, based on voter turnout over the last few decades, these efforts have done little to nothing. ... However, following each of these changes, voter turnout dropped dramatically because new voters were not motivated to use their new voting abilities. So, all of the attempts to increase voter turnout by increasing eligibility and making registration easier were unsuccessful. ...

  • Word Count: 1811
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. Reasons For Low Voter Turnout

Reasons for Low Voter Turnout There are many reasons that account for low voter turnout. ... Some people argue that lower voter turnout is not necessarily bad. ... There are many steps that could be taken to increase voter turnout in the United States. ... The parties and candidates themselves could increase voter turnout if they interacted with the voters more and tried to motivate them. ... Congress has already set programs into effect in order to improve voter turnout. ...

  • Word Count: 565
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

4. Low Voter Turnout

Out of twenty-one democracies, the United States placed twentieth in voter turnout for presidential elections. Only Switzerland has lower voter turnout than in U.S. ... Voter turnout is low because eligible voters don't know the candidates, are too busy in their daily lives, think it's pointless to vote, or are just too lazy. ... Another factor that helps voter turnout is that elections are held on weekends. ... To try and fix the low voter turnout, the United States should think about allowing voters to vote on the weekend. ...

  • Word Count: 642
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Low Voter Turnout

Out of twenty-one democracies, the United States placed twentieth in voter turnout for presidential elections. Only Switzerland has lower voter turnout than in U.S. ... Voter turnout is low because eligible voters don't know the candidates, are too busy in their daily lives, think it's pointless to vote, or are just too lazy. ... Another factor that helps voter turnout is that elections are held on weekends. ... To try and fix the low voter turnout, the United States should think about allowing voters to vote on the weekend. ...

  • Word Count: 661
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Why Americans Do Not Vote

Italy has and 94% voter turnout, Australia with a 84% voter turnout, Israel 82%, France 77%, the U.K. 75%, Japan 73%, and Canada with a 67% voter turnout. ... Not surprisingly, they have very high turnouts. ... Voters are usually more highly educated than non-voters. ... Race also explains why the south has long had a lower turnout than the rest of the country. ... It will probably increase voting turnout by 5 to 10% yet this would still only bring us back to voting turnouts of 30 years ago. ...

  • Word Count: 1275
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

7. Low Voter Turnout

Low voter turnout, or very simply put, non-voting, is a major issue in the United States today. By looking at demographic characteristics and institutional obstacles associated with nonvoting, we may begin taking steps to understand the reasons for such low voter turnout. Demographic characteristics associated with low voter turnout are a result of the nature of people. Education plays a major role in voter turnout. ... Another reason why registering is probably the greatest cause of low voter turnout is that if one is not that thrilled with the political process, or just bothered all the nega...

  • Word Count: 918
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Voter ID Laws and Democracy

That issue was Voter ID laws--laws that are put in place by states which would require voters to show some type of identification before being allowed to cast their votes. ... Until 2011, there were only two states with "strict" voter ID laws, meaning that voters had to show a form of government-issued identification as a prerequisite to casting their vote. ... Voter ID laws definitely do more harm than good, and for this reason, they are a threat to our democracy. Those in support of voter ID laws tend to argue three main points. ... The trial judge in the voter ID case shot down that argume...

  • Word Count: 2997
  • Approx Pages: 12
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

9. Federal Court Finds Texas Voter ID Requirements Discriminatory

Republicans nationwide are attempting to impose strict voter identification requirements, citing that they want to eliminate voter fraud. However, according to many studies, voter fraud is almost non-existent. ... Lawyers for the state of Texas argued that they had rights to protect their elections and that historically, voter ID laws did not have a huge impact on voter turnout (USA Today). ... Several states do have some type of voter ID law, including Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. ... "This deals with the despicable issues of discrimination, voter suppression. ...

  • Word Count: 786
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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